Starting out
What it takes to start.
The number that matters is not the order value, it is how long your money is out. Between paying a deposit and selling the goods there is production, a voyage, clearance and your own selling cycle, and every cost in that window is funded by you.
The costs before revenue.
In roughly the order they arrive.
- 01
Samples and development
Small, and the courier costs on samples surprise people. This is also where testing starts if your market requires it.
- 02
Compliance before the first order
Test reports, registrations and any responsible person arrangement. Some markets require this before goods can be sold at all.
- 03
The deposit
Typically paid before production begins, and it funds the supplier's raw material.
- 04
The balance
Usually before or against shipping documents, which means before you have seen the goods.
- 05
Freight and insurance
Depending on the Incoterm, and origin charges that are easy to miss in a quotation.
- 06
Duty, tax and clearance
Payable at import, before the goods are released, and duty is calculated on a customs value rather than on the invoice alone.
- 07
Storage and handling
From arrival until the goods sell, plus any demurrage if release is delayed.
The window.
Add production time, the voyage, clearance and your own selling cycle. That total is how long your money is out on a single order.
For most Indonesian goods into Europe or North America it is months rather than weeks, and it is longer on a first order because everything takes an extra step.
Then remember you have to place the second order before the first one has sold, or you have a gap. Working capital for two cycles rather than one is the real requirement.
Reducing what you need.
Start with a smaller order even at a worse unit price. The first order is education and paying more for a smaller mistake is good value.
Consolidate with other buyers rather than filling a container alone, where the goods allow it.
Negotiate payment terms rather than price. Moving the balance to arrival is worth more than a small discount.
Do the compliance work before committing to volume, so you do not discover a blocker with money already out.
Questions buyers ask.
What is the minimum realistic first order?
It depends entirely on the product and the supplier's minimum, and the more useful question is how long your money will be tied up. A cheap order that ties up cash for five months can be harder than a larger one that turns quickly.
Can I pay after I sell the goods?
Almost never on a first order with a new supplier. Payment terms improve with a trading history, and that is one of the real returns on staying with a supplier who works.
What do people forget to budget for?
Compliance work before the first order, duty calculated on a customs value rather than the invoice, and storage while the goods sell. All three are predictable and all three surprise people.
Read next.
How long a first order really takes
Eleven stages, most invisible in a supplier's lead time. Which run in parallel, which cannot, and where it breaks.
Working out a landed cost
Everything between the factory price and the shelf. The twelve lines it contains, and the four that buyers forget.
What duty is calculated on
Duty is charged on a value that is not always the invoice. What gets added and what does not.
What a deposit is actually funding
A deposit is not a gesture of trust. It funds something specific, and that tells you whether the size is reasonable.
What sets a minimum order
Setup, material lots, the container and attention. Three of them move and one does not, and knowing which is binding beats any tactic.
Trade finance, in plain terms
The gap between paying a producer and being paid by your customer is where importers run out of money.
Choosing what to import first
Some products are far harder to start with. Which forgive a beginner and which do not.
Scaling up
What worked on a first order stops working at volume. Which parts break and what replaces them.
Sourcing from Indonesia?
Tell us the product, the quantity and the destination. We come back with what it involves before anyone talks about money.